Climber rescued from Mt. Hood in overnight mission

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — A climber was rescued from Mount Hood in an overnight mission that required roughly 30 rescuers, according to the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office.

The sheriff’s office first got the call for help around 7:30 p.m. Friday night after a climber couldn’t find their friend. That lost climber, 31-year-old Nikolas Larson, also called 911 that evening. He told authorities that he had summited Mt. Hood earlier that Friday but became lost on the way back down in the whiteout conditions.

Larson had only a few protein bars and no water with him, and by Friday night, his cell phone battery was down to 2%.

Search and Rescue coordinators call three teams out to the mountain to help find Larson: Portland Mountain Rescue, Hood River Crag Rats, and Mountain Wave.

Rescuers found Larson around 2 a.m. Saturday morning, according to the sheriff’s office. He was at 6,200 feet on the west side of Mt. Hood, just above Split Rock.

They began giving him first aid, and found that he was hypothermic.

Getting Larson off of the mountain required additional rescue teams to assist. They were then able to bring the climber down to Kiwanis Camp Road, near Government Camp by early Saturday morning. He was then taken to the hospital, however, his current condition is unknown.

All told, the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office said about 30 rescuers participated in the mission.